The United States Baseball League 2.0

[NYY #23]

Welcome to the United States Baseball League 2.0. I finally thought I found something that worked for me with a fictional league with my last thread - http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...xperiment.html

Maybe it should be 2.1, because I'm going to go back and edit things from this point on before I get too far and try and simplify things. I have a tendency to make things too complex, and create too large of a league or universe. So I'm cutting the number of teams in half from 40 to 20, and doing away with the NCAA. I'm really trying to keep things as simple as possible, and find something that works. In order to do that I wanted to create a little backstory -

While the United States Baseball League will begin play in 1926 we can trace the league roots back to 1912 when the initial United States Baseball League was formed as an outlaw league. The outlaw league would cease operations in 1913, but would be the precursor to a second outlaw league, the Federal League. The Federal League would end after two seasons, but a Supreme Court ruling in 1922 in favor of the Federal Baseball Club against the National League would bring about an end to the National Agreement.

Three years later the United States Baseball League would announce after the Pirates defeated the Washington Senators that the USBL would begin play in 1926, when the 10 team Eastern League would join forces with the 10 team Western League to form a second major league.

While on many levels the league would be in competition with the American and National Leagues the United States Baseball League would base themselves in cities without an established major league franchise and place franchises in cities such as Atlanta, Columbus, Louisville, New Orleans, Dallas, San Antonio, and Los Angeles. It would be the first taste of having a professional franchise in each of the twenty cities.

The USBL would also not target established major league players, and attempt to fill the league with players that have largely been ignored by both the American League and National League. The USBL knew they couldn't compete with Babe Ruth and the Yankees, but instead were attempting to create a new market for professional baseball with stars of their own.

[NYY #23]

Since I'm really changing everything on the first page, I apologize for the confusion. I wanted to start with the teams of the USBL, and talk a little about the structure. Teams will be playing a 162 game season, because 18 games against 9 opponents work out well. There will be no interleague play, and for now there will be a 3 game playoff between the top two teams of the Eastern League, and top two teams of the Western League. The winners will play a best of 5 USBL Championship. The championship will go to 7 games at some point, but we'll begin at best of 5.

I feel like I have an idea of how I want to do updates, but haven't figured things out completely. I think I was heading in the right direction with the last dynasty, but not quite where I wanted to go. Ultimately my goal is to create a fictional league that I can follow along with long term. I don't want to have any expectations of what is going to happen, but let things develop on their own.

There are certain things I like to focus on, and other things I don’t like to focus on. I'm really going to try and focus and share things that interest me, and not get into things that don't. That could be pennant races, players chasing milestones or records, or other things. If I see a player that does something interesting I'll shortlist them and provide updates on that player periodically.

I mentioned before that I'm doing this primarily for my benefit, and will hopefully have a long league and have fun with this. I'll post when it feels right, but don't want to get into a rut and feel like I have to give an update every month because I'm supposed to. I'll see how this comes across, and hopefully someone else will enjoy it as well. I'll also say that you can feel free to ask any questions and I'd be happy to answer them, or if there is a team or player you want me to provide regular updates on please let me know.

I believe that all of the logos and uniforms came from the retro thread that I linked, so I did want to thank txranger and knuckler for their great work, and making the game better.

[NYY #23]

Despite going through multiple years in testing I always feel better going through a year after I've erased the league history before beginning updates "for real." It's a final sanity check for me, and with that the 1926 season is completed.

The Eastern League Championship has also finished with the second place Worcester Hearts upsetting the Charlotte Hurricanes with a 15-2 blowout in Game 3 of the Championship. The Hearts will move on to the USBL Championship, and Adrian Alvarez was named Series MVP after hitting .571 with 5 RBI and 7 runs scored.

[NYY #23]

In the Western League it was the Sacramento Grizzlies who won 107 games in the regular season, and beat the Racers 2 games to none in the Western League Championship. The Grizzlies were led by 30 year old catcher Lee Cowan, who hit .290 with 33 home runs and 113 RBI. On the mound the Grizzlies were led by Mike Love (23-8, 2.76), Julio Zambrano (21-11, 3.16), and Bill James (15-8, 2.29).

Lonnie Wanhalls was named Series MVP after hitting .667 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored.

[NYY #23]

Nobody was able to stop the Grizzlies all season, and their dominance continued in the postseason as they beat the Worcester Hearts 5-4 in a deciding game 4 to capture the first USBL Championship.

Lonnie Wanhalla was named MVP of the USBL Championship Series, the second straight postseason series he was named MVP. He hit .500 in the postseason with 4 RBI, 3 stolen bases, and 4 runs scored.

[pauwoo]

If Ryan Lee keeps posting those kind of numbers, he should have the clout to demand they take a new picture of him.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by pauwoo

If Ryan Lee keeps posting those kind of numbers, he should have the clout to demand they take a new picture of him.

It's funny when I saw him I was really tempted to force a new picture for him! I'm hoping that he either buys a razor with his next paycheck.

[NYY #23]

35 year old Jeff Hawkins may not have much time left on the baseball field, but after hitting .369 this season for the Newark Peppers Hawkins proved that he isn't done yet. Hawkins captured the Eastern League batting title.



In the Western League it was Jeffrey Shatley of the San Antonio Monks who won the batting title after hitting .367. The 33 year old added 13 home runs, 89 RBI, and scored 127 runs.

[Friendly_Beaver]

OOTP Noob question, where do you get the fictional logos and unis? Is it part of an add-on pack or is it already in the game?

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by Friendly_Beaver

OOTP Noob question, where do you get the fictional logos and unis? Is it part of an add-on pack or is it already in the game?

There are a couple of places. The add-on central has some option, for example the Nickname project has logos and unis too. While I do use it I get most of the logos and unis I use directly from the mod forum: OOTP Mods - Logos, Graphics, and HTML - OOTP Developments Forums

Most of the uniforms that I will use in this dynasty came from the retro thread though:
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...-uniforms.html

I haven't shown any yet, but most of the college ones came from here:
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...er-league.html

There are a lot of talented mod makers in the community, and I feel like having a nice logo and uniform really adds character to the game. To me they are a big part of what makes the game special.

And if you need any help getting the logos or uniforms to work let me know.

[Friendly_Beaver]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

There are a couple of places. The add-on central has some option, for example the Nickname project has logos and unis too. While I do use it I get most of the logos and unis I use directly from the mod forum: OOTP Mods - Logos, Graphics, and HTML - OOTP Developments Forums

Most of the uniforms that I will use in this dynasty came from the retro thread though:
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...-uniforms.html

I haven't shown any yet, but most of the college ones came from here:
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...er-league.html

There are a lot of talented mod makers in the community, and I feel like having a nice logo and uniform really adds character to the game. To me they are a big part of what makes the game special.

And if you need any help getting the logos or uniforms to work let me know.

Thanks! By the way are you also on the Operation Sports Forums as "Skyboxer" there's someone there who loves baseball and has your exact Avatar, just wondering if it was you.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by Friendly_Beaver

Thanks! By the way are you also on the Operation Sports Forums as "Skyboxer" there's someone there who loves baseball and has your exact Avatar, just wondering if it was you.

Nope, that's not me. I guess we are probably both just fans of Mr. Mattingly.

[NYY #23]

Eastern League

Pitcher
Tomás Sánchez (Tampa Pirates)
.259/.281/.393, 135 AB, 4 HR, 0 SB, 60 wRC+, -0.0 WAR

Catcher
Elmer Morgan (Tampa Pirates)
.306/.413/.549, 517 AB, 31 HR, 2 SB, 153 wRC+, 7.1 WAR

First Baseman
Alejandro Guzmán (Newark Peppers)
.343/.390/.542, 583 AB, 27 HR, 0 SB, 149 wRC+, 5.2 WAR

Second Baseman
Fred Garrett (Memphis Hound Dogs)
.339/.479/.479, 576 AB, 2 HR, 69 SB, 159 wRC+, 7.7 WAR

Third Baseman
Jason Wolf (Louisville Kings)
.314/.354/.504, 657 AB, 26 HR, 0 SB, 129 wRC+, 4.9 WAR

Shortstop
Dave Barker (Worcester Hearts)
.317/.410/.507, 584 AB, 23 HR, 6 SB, 151 wRC+, 9.7 WAR

Left Fielder
Bryan Murphy (Charlotte Hurricanes)
.361/.481/.706, 415 AB, 38 HR, 3 SB, 206 wRC+, 7.0 WAR

Center Fielder
Ben Clark (Providence Bees)
.335/.365/.496, 639 AB, 10 HR, 43 SB, 130 wRC+, 4.0 WAR

Right Fielder
Tony León (Memphis Hound Dogs)
.333/.435/.552, 594 AB, 27 HR, 1 SB, 156 wRC+, 6.3 WAR

Western League

Pitcher
Jerry King (Houston Oilers)
.318/.333/.391, 110 AB, 0 HR, 0 SB, 67 wRC+, -0.4 WAR

Catcher
Lee Cowan (Sacramento Grizzlies)
.290/.437/.536, 517 AB, 33 HR, 2 SB, 155 wRC+, 7.7 WAR

First Baseman
Greg Bell (El Paso Sun Kings)
.297/.365/.452, 471 AB, 15 HR, 20 SB, 121 wRC+, 1.9 WAR

Second Baseman
Ryan Strong (El Paso Sun Kings)
.342/.404/.562, 427 AB, 20 HR, 6 SB, 158 wRC+, 3.8 WAR

Third Baseman
Tim Hull (Indianapolis Racers)
.313/.391/.493, 619 AB, 26 HR, 4 SB, 132 wRC+, 5.9 WAR

Shortstop
Danny Powell (Seattle Pilots)
.346/.477/.525, 569 AB, 17 HR, 15 SB, 169 wRC+, 9.8 WAR

Left Fielder
William Allen (Houston Oilers)
.323/.398/.565, 635 AB, 37 HR, 19 SB, 157 wRC+, 9.5 WAR

Center Fielder
Jeffrey Shatley (San Antonio Monks)
.367/.469/.515, 608 AB, 13 HR, 65 SB, 169 wRC+, 8.0 WAR

Right Fielder
Bartolo Cháves (Portland Sea Dogs)
.333/.440/.471, 618 AB, 19 HR, 26 SB, 150 wRC+, 5.7 WAR

[NYY #23]

While the edited posts are a little bit out of order one thing that I did initially was look at using tangotiger's Cy Tracker to see how it compares to OOTP voting - http://tangotiger.com/index.php/site...-young-tracker

Let's first take a look at how the predictions play out -

1) Jaime Batista, Charlotte - (26-11, 2.02 ERA, 244 K, 150.9 Cy Young Points)
2) Jeffrey Price, Louisville (26-10, 2.03 ERA, 255 K, 149.1 Cy Young Points)
3) Tomas Sanchez, Tampa (23-15, 2.49 ERA, 259 K, 134.5 Cy Young Points)
4) Bob Reynolds, New Orleans (24-13, 2.17 ERA, 162 K, 132.3 Cy Young Points)



The results of the Pitcher of the Year went as predicted, with 29 year old Jaime Batista winning the Pitcher of the Year, Jeffrey Price finishing second, and Tomas Sanchez finishing third.

[NYY #23]

As I did with the Eastern League, let's take a look at the Western League Pitcher of the Year predictions:

1) Floyd Hill, Houston (26-11, 1.94 ERA, 282 K, 158.2 Cy Young Points)
2) Jon McGuire, San Antonio (22-15, 1.74 ERA, 223 K, 125.4 Cy Young Points)
3) Frank Hart, Indianapolis (28-11, 2.75 ERA, 203 K, 119.9 Cy Young Points)
4) Domingo Kern, California (21-12, 2.50 ERA, 236 K, 116.6 Cy Young Points)



Once again the prediction was correct with Floyd Hill capturing the Pitcher of the Year in the Western League.

Second place went to Jon McGuire, while Domingo Kern beat out Frank Hart for third place. They were close, although Kern did have a 13.1 - 10.6 advantage in WAR.

[NYY #23]

The season of dominance for the Charlotte Hurricanes continues into the award voting as Bryan Murphy wins the Eastern League MVP. The 36 year old left fielder hit .361 this year with 38 home runs, 116 RBI, and 100 runs scored.

Finishing in second place was teammate and Pitcher of the year Jaime Batista, with Jeffrey Prince of the Louisville Kings finishing in third after going 26-10 with a 2.03 ERA.

[NYY #23]

Floyd Hill added an MVP Award to the Pitcher of the Year for his dominant season. The Oiler went 26-11 with a 1.94 ERA this year and finished ahead of teammate William Allen, who hit .323 with 37 home runs, 128 RBI, and 122 runs scored. Finishing in third place was catcher Lee Cowan of the Grizzlies, who hit .290 with 33 home runs and 113 RBI.

[darkcloud4579]

Thanks for reintroducing me to the Cy Points formula. I'll be using it in the future!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

Thanks for reintroducing me to the Cy Points formula. I'll be using it in the future!

Your welcome. It's a neat little formula, and at least by year one it turned out to be pretty accurate!

[NYY #23]

Tomas Sanchez of the Pirates became the first and only (so far) pitcher to throw a no-hitter this year. Sanchez did it with a 10 strikeout no-hitter in a June win over the Worcester Hearts.

One pitcher, Leslie Lane of the Newark Peppers struck out 15 batters this year, also against Worcester. It may be a little surprising, since Worcester is the only team to be no-hit, and strike out 15 times in a game, but the Hearts scored the second highest amount of runs in the league.

Three players - Nelson Sweetman of the Kings, Bryan Murphy of the Hurricanes, and Mike Williamson of the Oilers hit three home runs in a game this year while Charlie Carroll of the Hearts was the only player to hit for the cycle.